Planning any vacation requires careful consideration. Even if you're not embarking on a cruise or visiting an amusement park, spending your summer vacation the way you want can get expensive quick, especially when you're young. By learning creative strategies to earn and budget money, you can ensure that you'll be able to make the most of your vacation.

Steps

Part 1

Making Extra Money

1

Get a part-time job. Many businesses hire young people in the summer for this very reason. If you're old enough to work, ask around or look for "now hiring" signs; fast food restaurants and convenience stores are all over the place and will usually hire teenagers at age 15. Apply somewhere close to where you live to keep your commute short. Summer is a good time to work because you will have more time to devote to earning money while still enjoying your free time. Just make sure the hours you work are convenient for your summer schedule and allow you to do the things you have planned.[1]

Be sure to look professional and act your best when applying for jobs.

Choose a job that interests you. You'll have fun making money and the work will be more rewarding.

Spending your summers working also shows initiative. Once you've been at a job for a while, it will be easier to get hired at other jobs in the future, and opportunities for promotions and raises will arise.

2

Perform chores for money. Parents will often give their kids an allowance for handling certain household responsibilities. See if your parents would be willing to work out some kind of wage to help you make money for your vacation in exchange for taking of duties around the house. Alternatively, have your parents talk to people they know or visit your neighbors to ask if they have chores they'd be willing to pay you to do. Most people have some task they've been putting off or haven't gotten around to doing, or simply want to help out. It never hurts to ask.

Some examples of chores you might do for payment include mowing lawns, raking leaves, cleaning swimming pools, walking a neighbors dogs, picking up trash or offering to buy groceries. Think of anything you know how to do that other people might not have time to do themselves.

Let the person you're doing chores for know that you're saving for your summer vacation. They'll be impressed with your work ethic and may be able to find additional tasks for you to perform.

3

Become a tutor. If you're studious and have good grades, hire yourself out as a tutor. This is a service many parents would be happy to pay for, and you'd also be helping out a peer or younger kid with their schoolwork. Have your parents make the arrangements with the parents of the person you'd be tutoring, or post flyers advertising your services to students in the area.[2]

Besides academic subjects, you could also offer to tutor someone in another skill set, such as learning an instrument, playing a sport or speaking a foreign language. Tutoring can take any number of forms; the more passionate and knowledgeable about the subject you are, the better tutor you'll be.

4

Babysit for people you know. If a relative or family friend has small children that need watching, volunteer your time for a modest fee. Like tutoring, babysitting both gives you a way to earn extra money and be useful helping someone else.[3]

While babysitting is a common enough job, it is one that should be taken seriously. You'll be looking after people's young children, so make sure you're good with kids and know how to take care of them and respond to emergencies.

5

Sell a product or service. If you're skilled at making something or can provide a special service, offer it to people; kids have been taking this homemade business approach since the classic lemonade stand. A product or service can be anything from landscaping to grouting tile to hand-making Christmas ornaments or baking fresh cookies. Market yourself to the people you know and get your friends and family to spread the word.[4]

Put up flyers in your neighborhood or post ads about the product or service you're promising. The more people you reach, the more money you stand to make.

Get your friends involved by performing community tasks, such as taking care of yard work or having a car wash.

6

Sell some of your old things. Everybody has a few things lying around that they no longer have any use for. Gain a little pocket change by selling off old clothes, electronics, sporting equipment and anything else you don't use. Online services like Ebay and Craigslist and consignment shops can make unloading unwanted items fast and easy, or hold a garage sale in your neighborhood.
[5]

There's no limit to the things people will buy. Look for odd or vintage items that might interest a potential buyer in addition to more obvious items.

Online selling should only be done by or under the supervision of a parent. Your parents can also help you advertise and take pictures of the items you're planning to sell, set fair prices and take care of shipping and/or pickup of items.

7

Make extra money online. Certain websites will pay you to complete surveys, review products or even test games. They may not pay much, but the effort required is generally minimal, and it can be done on your own time from the comfort of home. If you're not able to work a part-time job, or if you're just looking to make a little extra on top, these online opportunities may be worth looking into.[6]

While opportunities to make money online exist, it can be hard to find legitimate ones. There are many websites that try to scam you into buying a product or giving up personal information. Be careful what you sign up for, and if possible get a parent or teacher to help you find safe websites to use.

Part 2

Saving Your Money

1

Start your own vacation fund. Start putting away some money especially for your vacation. How much and how often you can add to the fund will depend on you, but this way you'll have a growing amount of money set aside specifically for your summer goals. See if your parents or friends would be willing to contribute to the fund. If your summer activities are going to involve your friends, consider pooling your money so that everyone can help save equally.

Open a separate savings account for your vacation fund, or have your parents help you open one. That way you can be sure all of the money in the account will go directly towards paying for your vacation activities, and it will give you a safe place to keep what you earn.

2

Cut down on spending. Think of ways to reduce your regular spending. You may have to give up a shopping trip or night out with friends on occasion, but remind yourself that you're attempting to meet a goal for your vacation. [7]

Determine whether a given expense is a want or a need. Take care of your needs first, and set aside the wants you can live without.

Be thrifty by reusing items when you can instead of buying new ones.

Stop eating out. Food is expensive, and since you have to eat every day, you can lose your hard-earned money fast if you're constantly buying food at restaurants. Buy groceries in bulk for better value and eat at home whenever you can.

In most cases, new clothes are not a necessary expenditure. Get comfy in the duds you're in and avoid the allure of things like new shoes and accessories.

3

Set aside a fixed amount. Now that you've got a vacation fund, start adding a fixed amount of money to it at regular intervals. Even if it's just a dollar per day, you'll have a growing account that you'll be able to draw from later when the time comes to enjoy your vacation plans.

If you work a part-time job, you can set up a direct deposit line straight to your account, making it easy to choose exactly how much money you want to go toward savings.

Get in the habit of setting a small amount of money aside consistently, and your fund will grow steadily with time.

4

Limit your driving time. Fuel costs can take a toll on any budget. If you drive a car and have to pay for gas, cut down on the amount of unnecessary driving you do on a regular basis. Now is not the time for aimless late-night cruises; carpool with friends when possible, or take a bus or ride a bike if your destination is within a short distance. You might be surprised how much money you can save just by spending less time in the car.[8]

Choose the right grade of fuel. It's unnecessary to spring for premium gas in most vehicles, and standard fuel is considerably cheaper and tends to run just as well.

Keep your tires properly inflated. This small trick can really save you some mileage in the long run.

Watch your speed while driving. Obviously, the faster you go, the more fuel you burn. Keep it steady at the speed limit, and avoid idling for long periods if you can help it.

5

Use your student ID card for discounts. Students receive discounts at many businesses, why not use that to your advantage? Places like movie theaters, clothing stores and eateries allow you to save cash or earn other money-saving rewards by presenting your student ID, so if you've got it, you might as well use it.[9]

6

Resist the temptation to spend. For many people this might be the most difficult approach. Mapping out your expenses and finding ways to cut down on spending is one thing, but all it takes is one impulse buy or last minute night out to blow your savings and make your summer vacation plans a distant fantasy. Remind yourself frequently of why you started saving money in the first place.

Any time find yourself about to buy something you don't need, stop and ask yourself "is this more important than my plans for vacation?"

If you're a chronic or unreliable spender, set up a savings account you can't touch or leave your money to the care of your parents. You'll be thankful you did.[10]

Part 3

Planning Your Vacation

1

Decide how much money you'll need. First, think about how you plan to spend your vacation. Are you taking a road trip to the beach with your family, going camping or just hanging around with your friends at home? Even if you're not going anywhere, you may need to save up more money than you'd expect if you plan to do certain activities. Make a list of everything you know you'll need to buy or pay for and estimate the expense of each item. For instance:

If you're traveling, where will you stay? Are your parents renting a hotel or condo? Will you be rooming with friends? Accommodations are often the priciest part of traveling, and you'll need to be certain you can afford lodging on your trip.

How are you planning to spend your time? Is there an admission fee or ticket price where you're going? How costly are the activities you hope to do? Having an idea of how you're going to spend your time can help give you a figure to aim for and safeguard you from unexpected financial obstacles later on.

What will you need to buy? If you're going camping, do you own a tent, or can you borrow one? What about a cooler for food? Items you need to take trips can often be borrowed or bought cheaply, but it's best to know what all you'll need ahead of time.[11]

2

Plan your expenses in advance. Draft up an itinerary for your trip or a daily schedule that will help you map out possible expenses. Get specific. If possible, create a day-by-day list of everything you'll need to buy, bring or pay for, including unforeseen costs like parking. The more money you anticipate needing to save, the better prepared you'll be once the time comes.

Ask your parents for help coming up with expenses you may not have thought of.

Some websites offer useful charts for keeping track of vacation costs for free. Use these and other resources to give you an exact idea of what amounts will be necessary.

3

Consider other costs. Smaller day-to-day costs like food, fuel, and last-minute purchases can sneak up on you. It's impossible to know all the circumstances you'll encounter in advance, but while you're planning your expenses think about how quickly they can stack up just taking care of daily necessities. Again, having the most complete picture of what you can expect to spend will be the most helpful factor for saving for your vacation.[12]

It's always better to prepare too much than too little. Plan on building up a financial cushion to avoid the risk of not having enough.

Community Q&A

If this question (or a similar one) is answered twice in this section, please click here to let us know.

Tips

Ask your parents or teachers for advice on how to make and save money. They've been doing it a lot longer than you, and chances are they've come up with creative ways to stretch a dime that haven't occurred to you.

If you feel compelled to spend, do it by rewarding yourself in little ways here and there. Resist the urge to splurge, and keep impulse shopping to a minimum.

Learning to earn and budget money is a good thing, but remember why you're doing it: to have fun on your vacation! Be disciplined, but don't let penny-pinching keep you from enjoying yourself.